Embedded File System 1.0 – Filesystem in a File

The Embedded File System (EFS) library, of which the first stable version, 1.0, has just been released, is a C++ library that creates a virtual filesystem in a file.

EFS 1.0 uses the B-Tree "B+" variant as the filesystem tree. The library relies on the Qt4 library and is BSD licensed.

EFS is useful for application developers who need to handle large numbers of small files. Instead of overloading the operating system with innumerable requests, developers can use a single file, and let EFS handle the load. "It will still be blazing fast even when you have millions of files." the developers promise. And it supports encryption. EFS 1.0 is available as a zip file from the authors’ website. The download includes various sample applications.

Systemd developers are working on a system that might make the differences between the many Linux distributions easier to tolerate for software users, developers, and vendors – and the Btrfs filesystem plays a central role in their ambitious plans.

The extended filesystem has been part of the Linux kernel since 0.96c – a faithful companion of the free operating system. With its developments – or, rather, rebirths – through ext2, ext3, and ext4, it is one of the oldest Linux-specific software projects.